Pronunciation Guide

OK, I might be totally alone on this one, but on more than one occasion now, I have mispronounced the name of a high-end desginer and had to suffer the embarrassment of a correction. Examples: Kiton: I said "KITE-un" but was told it is "key-TONE" Hermes: Silly anglicizer that I am, I said "her-meez" but apparently it's "air-mez" Anyone else have an anecdote to share to spare me/us the embarrassment of such faux-pas? Here are a few I've been hesitating to say outloud: Patek Phillippe (Is it "pa-TEK," "PAT-ek" or "PAY-tek") Canali (Is it "ca-NA-lee" or "ca-NAH-lee") There are others, I'm sure. Â Please....add your own.

For some reason the watch companies are the hardest: -Audemar Piguet -Breguet -A Lange -Vacheron Constentin -Bedat -Zenith (it is NOT pronounced like the TV company...) EDIT: I mis-spelled Breguet (I was simply listing firms, not attempting to be phonetic)

we had a thread about this before. i find it really annoying especial since my name is spanish and so many people completely mess it up. i don't see what is so difficult pronouncing foreign names, especially anyhting european. english is based on latin just like the euro languages.

Quote:

Er-men-uh-jil-doh = Ermenegildo

where do you get the "uh" from? ridiculous. the 'e' is pronounced like an 'e'. like in the word red, or bed, or men. er-men-e-jeel-doh i say var-vah-tos, because the name sounds vaguely spanish to me. i've never heard of anyone else with this name and it could be portuguese or greek. Â if you say var-vay-tos, you're not even trying.